The Hermitage, Historical museum in Ancaster, Canada.

The Hermitage is a museum in Ancaster that showcases the remains of a 19th-century stone mansion alongside an attached gatehouse. The complex sits within the natural landscape of the Dundas Valley Conservation Area and includes interpretive displays throughout the grounds.

Reverend George Sheed built the original Hermitage in 1830. Otto Ives, an English officer who had fought in the Greek War of Independence, bought it from Sheed's heirs after arriving in Ancaster by 1833. In 1853 George Gordon Browne Leith and his wife Eleanor Ferrier acquired the property and added a large stone house, outbuildings, a farmhouse, barns and an entrance lodge. Their daughter Eleanor Alma Dick Lauder lived there until a fire destroyed the house in 1934; she then built a small house inside the ruins.

The household of Otto Ives and Magdalene Diamanti spoke Greek at home; Diamanti was the daughter of an Aegean island governor and the couple married in Corfu in 1824 before reaching Ancaster by 1833. A coachman, William Black, was hired, and legend holds he fell in love with the Greek companion who came with the family and was found hanged in the barn. The story is unverified but has become Ancaster folklore.

The site features walking trails through the valley and informational markers at the ruins, allowing for self-guided exploration. The Hamilton Conservation Authority maintains the grounds, and visitors should expect uneven terrain when exploring the stone structures.

The Ives family spoke Greek at home since Mrs. Ives came from an Aegean island and brought her language to the household. This European corner in the Canadian wilderness was unusual for its time and shaped daily life there in unexpected ways.